Case Digest (G.R. No. L-18841)
Facts:
Republic of the Philippines v. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, G.R. No. L-18841. January 27, 1969, the Supreme Court En Banc, Reyes, J.B.L., J., writing for the Court.The plaintiff-appellant is the Republic of the Philippines, acting through the Bureau of Telecommunications (created by Executive Order No. 94, July 1, 1947). The defendant-appellant is the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), a public service corporation operating under a legislative franchise (Act 3436, as amended by Commonwealth Act No. 407). RCA Communications, Inc. (not a party here) held radio franchises and had contractual relations with PLDT and the Bureau.
Beginning in 1933 PLDT and RCA contracted to interchange overseas telephone traffic and to share tolls (later adjusted in 1941 and 1947), with PLDT giving RCA notice in February 1956 of contract termination effective February 2, 1958. After establishment of the Bureau’s Government Telephone System (GTS) in 1947–48, the Bureau rented trunk lines from PLDT and, over time, extended service to the general public. On 2 February 1958 a provisional joint overseas service between the Bureau and RCA began and was formalized by agreement on 5 March 1958.
PLDT objected on 7 April 1958 that the Bureau was using rented trunk lines to serve the public in competition with PLDT and threatened disconnection; having received no satisfactory reply, PLDT disconnected seventy‑eight trunk lines at midnight on 12 April 1958, effectively isolating much foreign telephone service to the United States only. On 12 April 1958 the Republic filed suit in the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Manila, Civil Case No. 35805, seeking a writ directing PLDT to execute an interconnecting contract on reasonable terms and a preliminary mandatory injunction to restore and restrain severance of connections.
The CFI, on 14 April 1958, ordered PLDT to reconnect and to refrain from severing connections and later, after hearing, dismissed both the Re...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- May the trial court compel PLDT to enter into an interconnecting contract with the Bureau of Telecommunications?
- Was the Court of First Instance an improper forum because the Public Service Commission (PSC) had exclusive jurisdiction?
- Was the Bureau of Telecommunications empowered to operate commercial telephone service for the public?
- Was PLDT justified in severing the trunk-line connections, and was it entitled to compensatio...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)